An unfinished or partially finished basement can be a great blank canvas for a lot of different room concepts. Though one of the most popular ways to make the most out of these bountiful spaces is to transform them into a living room with a family-friendly entertainment center.
This is the sort of place where the family can gather on a Saturday evening for family movie night. It can also be a separate place to let the kids hang out after hours to game or watch their own shows without making a ton of noise on the main floor of the house.
If you want to transform your basement space into a family-friendly living room, some of the following ideas can help you take the entertainment center to the next level.
Pick Your Theme & Purpose
Understanding the underlying purpose of your basement family room will help you deck out the entertainment center to match. This will influence not only the décor but the electronics you want to partner with your chosen furniture.
Popular themes for family-friendly entertainment centers & living room concepts include:
- Video Gaming Center
- Family Home Theater
- Sports Bar Man Cave
With each of these different themes, the furniture, décor, and of course, the entertainment center all take on different forms. It helps to take a granular look at some of the finer touches with each of these themes before we move on to some of the nuts-and-bolts details of creating a next-level entertainment center.
Video Gaming Center
This is an entertainment center that relies on cutting-edge innovation and technology to create an immersive experience. The first question to ask yourself in a room like this is done you want to go with a flatscreen TV or a short-throw wall projector. Both are similar investments for the visual components and/or preparing the wall.
Where it gets interesting is when you start deciding on the audio equipment. A flat-screen TV will come with its own basic speakers. Some of which are respectful. Whereas any speakers on a projector will be arguably woeful.
So, be prepared to invest in some serious subwoofers and surround sound speakers to take the gaming entertainment center to the next level. As a bonus, it also makes the room more amenable to hosting family movie nights with an immersive sound experience.
Of course, thoughtful storage and integrated wireless technology are also critical for a family-friendly gaming room. This means making sure that there’s a great Wi-Fi signal in the basement or adding a signal booster. Then you also want to make sure that there’s enough storage space around the entertainment center for things like gaming consoles and hotspots.
A Decked-Out Home Theater
Having a regularly scheduled Family Movie Night is a great way to boost family togetherness. It’s also a good reason for keeping your basement entertainment center family-friendly and not just a den that your teenagers use for gaming and watching goofy movies.
Here again, you need a big screen to let your movies live largely. One of the best ways to do this is with a massive, curved-screen LED TV. They tick all the boxes for being massive and immersive with stunning visual clarity. Most come with a great sound system built in. This means you only need to add accessory surround sound speakers in critical locations throughout your basement family movie theater.
The trick with a curved screen TV is to get all the devices and appliances properly connected to it without a bunch of ugly wires sprawling out like Kraken tentacles. One of the best ways to discretely hide devices in plain sight is to have the curved screen TV built into a custom entertainment center that enrobes it. This adds to the visual prominence of the screen as well as tastefully disguising all your essential devices by hiding them in plain sight.
Sports Bar Man Cave
Are you, or do you have a big-time sports fan in your family? If so, then you need to give them a place to watch every game, without making them feel like they’re being kicked out of the family room. One of the best ways to do this is to give them a man cave entertainment center in the basement while making sure it’s still family-friendly enough to cater to everyone. Especially for those times when the entire family gets together to watch the big game.
This is a place where surround sound takes a bit more of a back seat. While a big screen TV or a short throw projector provides the visuals of the game, a great man cave also relies on display.
This means frames hanging screen-adjacent with jerseys, posters, and props. Shelves on the walls with replica trophies and swag. Then enough space nearby for memorabilia, like that ball they caught in the stands during the championship game.
Of course, what’s a family-friendly man cave without refreshments? Things like popcorn makers, a mini-fridge, or a basement bar with their favorite beer on tap all take the man cave theme to the next level. While also making it easy for anyone in the family to pop in watch a game and have some convenient snacks
